By quarterback standards though, Stafford's deal is in the second tier of signal callers, behind the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Joe Flacco. And it's no secret why.

"A Super Bowl ring," Stafford said at a press conference. "That's what those guys have. League MVP, Super Bowl rings, years of experience doing it. All of that. And I think that's what is a great opportunity for me in the next four or five years is to get to that level, and hopefully stay with this organization for a long time."

Flacco played Let's-Make-A-Deal lottery last offseason, turning down a reported five-year, $80-million deal and gambling that a bigger payday would be in store with another good year and all the leverage he enjoyed.

A month after leading the Ravens to the Super Bowl, Flacco cashed in with a six-year, $120-million contract.

Stafford, 25, had his own leverage thanks to a massive rookie deal he signed as the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 - he's made $50.5 million in his first four seasons - that he's restructured each of the last two years, and he considered waiting.

"There were people out there that wanted me to do that, and I thought about it," he said. "But I wanted to do what was right for the club and what was right for me. Like I said months ago - and you guys (reporters) didn't believe - I said I'm not in it to sign megacontracts, I'm in it to win games. And I'm happy to be here, and I'm happy to do what I can to help this club and get as many players around as we can."

The deal makes plenty of sense too for Stafford, who owns a 17-29 record as a starter, a serious shoulder injury in his recent past, 10,000 yards passing over the last two years and all the talent in the world.

His new contract runs through the 2017 season, which he'll play as a 29-year-old. When it expires, he'll still be in the prime of his career and in line for a third megadeal.

Lions president Tom Lewand said the deal was one "that makes sense for both sides."

"I think this is the right term and the right figures, whether those are the dollar amounts or those are the years involved in the contract," Lewand said. "As Matthew said, he's in a process to talk about this again at 28 or 29 or 30 years old, and it's our hope that we'll be doing the same thing. So it's the right way to address all of our concerns, all of our goals collectively, for the organization and for him as our quarterback."

While contract talks had been ongoing since February's NFL scouting combine, they picked up considerable steam in recent weeks.

Lewand said Stafford was the one who "really drove this process," and when the two sides got close last week even inquired about how the team will use the cap savings they're getting on the deal, a reported $7 million this year.

"This process started back in February when he was in here by himself, nobody else in the building," Lewand said. "He was here working out, he was here getting better, he was here looking to the future and looking to the season. Part of that process, and he referenced it, is becoming a leader in the locker room, a leader on the field, a leader off the field, and he has worked incredibly hard at all phases of that over the last few years, but particularly this offseason.

"He worked hard on the contract front and for him it really was more about the process, more about being here, more about solidifying himself as the leader of this team and of that locker room than it was about every last zero or every last dollar and cent on the contract."

Before he signed his contract today, Stafford said he got in a quick run on the treadmill. Later, he plans on golfing.

"I'm just happy that I'm going to be here for another five (years), getting this team going in the right direction," he said. "I promise you nobody's going to work harder than me to get this team going in the right direction winning games and going to the playoffs multiple years in a row. That's the plan, that's the whole reason I signed this deal is to be here and turn this thing in the right direction and make sure it stays that way for a long time.

"I know it seemed like it took forever, but it was a deal that I'm extremely happy to sign and happy to be here for a long time."